Original subtitles

As soon as I say vegan, that's when people go. "I'm good."

♪ We got the skills We all the way We all the way ♪

I'm Charity Morgan, vegan chef and bestselling author.

I'm a personal chef for NFL players and celebrities.

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ This time baby... ♪

And now, I'm getting calls from restaurants all over the country

to update their menus with delicious, plant-based options.

♪ New attitude... ♪

But even when a restaurant knows they need to add vegan options,

there's always a little pushback from the kitchen.

But I'm gonna convince even the most meat-loving restaurant owners and chefs

they can still serve all those saucy, dripping, yummy,

make-your-mouth-water meals their diners love

and they can be vegan.

♪ Everybody know when I come around here ♪

♪ I'm the number one in the atmosphere ♪

[Charity] I'm at home in Nashville, Tennessee, and I got a call this week

from a local restaurant to come veganize their menu.

But before I go, I have to whip something up for breakfast.

I'm married to Derrick Morgan, a retired NFL vet.

Two children, boy and a girl. I have the best family.

This morning, I'm making a smoky corn cake.

When I'm in the kitchen and I'm cooking,

it's like I am in a zone.

I don't like people in the kitchen when I'm cooking.

Even Derrick knows. Come in, sit and talk to me from the aisle.

Don't come into the war zone.

Your makeup looks dynamic.

Dynamic? That's the word you choose?

Amazing.

You see this abuse on camera?

Y'all see this? [chuckles] All right.

- What are you making? - [Charity] I'm making some bacon corn cakes.

What's the bacon made out of?

- Shiitake. - Oh. Kind of sneaking in on me.

All right.

Derrick's a picky eater.

Why do you always try to sneak the mushrooms in?

Like, just be up front.

I'm not sneaking it in. I know you hate mushrooms.

When he asked me what's in it, that's like...

[sighs] Stop being annoying. Just try it first.

He knows better.

These are good. Thank you.

It's a savory, sweet moment where it's, like, crunchy,

it's got freshness from the tomatoes,

but then, you put the syrup on it,

- and it's just, like... - It pops.

[both laugh]

- So where are you going today? - I'm going to Germantown Pub.

Naima, the owner, called me because she wanted to add

a few vegan items on their menu.

But the executive chef, JDee, I don't think he's having it.

He's the one in charge of the kitchen.

He's a classic Southern chef, and the one that I'm really gonna have to convince.

In restaurants like that, it's just a game day food.

- Wings, nachos. - [Charity] Yes. Yes.

Well, I feel like people don't think that you can have those types of food,

- veganized versions. - Yeah.

- Do they know that you cook for the boys? - I don't know.

First, my husband went plant-based, and then, I slowly trickled on after him.

I started making plant-based meals for him,

and the other players were just making fun of him.

Then, they jumped on board and I was making meals for a majority of the team.

And now, I'm getting inquiries from athletes from all around the world.

My point is, 300-pound, you know, defensive linemen were eating your food.

I mean, that's a pretty good testament.

I don't want to strong arm his restaurant, I want to be approachable.

I want to be kind. I want to say,

"Hey, this is a different way of how you do it because it's a shock for people."

Especially in the South.

[Derrick] You've got to meet people where they're at, you know?

I think that's one thing that you've been able to do well.

Yeah, because I don't want someone telling me what to eat.

- Facts. - So, I'm not going in to

tell someone else what to put in your mouth.

- I'm a little nervous. - Well, go blow their minds.

[Charity] I don't care what your background is.

I don't care where you're from, what zip code you claim.

You put a bunch of people in one room with great food,

and all they're talking about is how good the food is.

I love that.

Terra is my fun, bubbly, carni friend.

She can try the meat, the dairy, the things that have egg in it.

She's a great person to collect intel.

[Terra] So, girl, you told me earlier you're meeting a new client.

- It's a sports bar. - Okay...

- That's definitely dope. - So, it's somewhere

- we can definitely go and watch the game. - Yeah.

But I would never go there as of right now,

because, if they don't have food for me,

there's no point in me going.

Like, I don't have no business anywhere that don't got enough food.

- [Terra] Do you ever get nervous? - Yes. I am a human being.

Why do people think I'm not human. I have feelings.

- I really do. - You're just always so chill.

I love what I do. I know I'm good at it.

But I don't know what I am going to approach today.

- Bring it on. - [mimics ominous fanfare]

♪ I put 'em down My morning grind Is do or die ♪

♪ Feeling mine I'm in my prime It's time to shine ♪

♪ I'm living life I'm living right ♪

♪ You know it's just Another day in the life Of a champion ♪

Where do you wanna sit?

- This one? - Mm-hmm.

The first thing I need to do is see what this restaurant has to offer.

So, the best way I can do that is go in as a customer,

sit down, have that experience as a customer

before I start talking to Naima more about what she truly needs.

Hmm. There's nothing here for me.

Vegan is no animal products, no meat.

There's no dairy in it.

It doesn't come from an animal.

That means milk and yogurt, too.

You can get a house salad with no cheese, no dressing.

Oh, God. Okay. Um...

I eat healthy most of the time, but I like to be bad, too.

I want a freakin' burger.

Why can't I have a burger at a pub?

Why?

How are we doing, ladies?

- Hello. - Good, how are you?

Doing great. Anything sounding good on the menus?

- There's a black bean burger on there. - [man] Mm-hmm.

[Charity] Is there egg in that?

Any meat products, dairy, or...

Just different plant-based materials and such?

Okay, I'm gonna try the black bean patty on sourdough.

- [man] Okay. - [Charity] And then, some fries.

Okay. The ancho ranch that it comes with is wonderful.

- [Charity] Ancho Ranch? - Ancho Ranch.

- [Terra] That does it. - Sounds delicious but not vegan.

- [Terra] Mm-hmm. - That, I don't believe, is very vegan at all.

- [Charity groans] Oh, that's so wrong. - I know. I'm not trying

to ruin your Monday.

Okay, Get a burger. I need you to try a burger.

- [Terra] Let's do it. - All right.

Uh, can we get some pub chips?

- Get a trifecta. I need to see that, please. - I'll get a trifecta.

Trifecta. Ranch or blue cheese? What kind of people are we?

- Blue cheese. All that. - Blue cheese.

- I'm neither. - Oh, my goodness, I'm blowing it again.

[all laughing]

It shows me where they really need the help.

[man] Here you go. Y'all enjoy.

[Charity] Try the pub chips. Tell me what you think of it. And be honest.

It's a little spicy. It doesn't have a lot of flavor.

The first thing I thought when I saw the pub chips, lifeless.

I wanted to smell those spices.

It just smelled flat.

Tell me what's going on with these.

The sauce is crazy.

- It's a little crazy. It smells crazy. - Delicious.

[Terra] It's tangy. It's spicy.

- I'm so hating on you right now. - It's garlicky.

- This is great. - [Charity] Okay.

I like what I saw when I saw the wings.

I liked that I saw textures of crispy,

sticky, sweet, drippy...

I love that.

I'm gonna try this black bean burger.

[Terra] It looks delicious.

Best butter on that bread.

It is.

If I eat anything meat based, I'm gonna be in the bathroom for a very long time.

Now, I don't... I don't trust anything.

- Yeah. - I don't trust anything.

Burger's very dry.

I want something more. I want a sauce.

I don't want a... dry-ass burger. I just don't.

I want my burger to drip like your burger.

I want it to be saucy.

I want to lick my fingers, too.

- [Terra] It's a little sad. - Mm-hmm.

[Charity] I was sad.

I felt like, put the same kind of love that you do in your chicken wings,

put that in your sandwich.

If I'm gonna sacrifice those calories, that [bleep] better be good.

How is everything, ladies?

Wonderful. Thank you.

- Can I talk to JDee? - Absolutely.

[both] Thank you.

- [man] Yes, ma'am. - Thank you.

- [Charity] Okay. I'll grab you after. - Okay.

Hello?

JDee.

- [JDee] Hey. - [Charity] The man.

- Naima. - [Naima] Yes.

- [Charity] Okay. You called me. - [Naima] I did.

Tell me what you are wanting.

So, I really want more vegan options

as one of the owners that is a vegan probably four days a week.

So, I need food that I can eat, and I know if I can eat it,

that there are thousands of other people like me who would eat it.

Absolutely.

There are 5,000 restaurants in Nashville.

And I'm stretching when I say this.

It may be about 15 that have vegan options.

And as a business person, you see the holes in where we could do better.

- [Naima] Exactly. - Yes.

But this man disagrees.

[JDee] Look at me.

Nothing about this body says, "vegan."

- [women laugh] - I'm not gonna be convinced.

You gotta convince me. You gotta show me.

This is built on swine.

People come in here because they're looking

for those trifecta wings and then catfish nuggets.

They want them juicy burgers with their big jalapenos sitting on top,

something crunchy and greasy.

And this is what people are looking for when they come in here.

I'm looking for the same thing.

If I can get NFL players and athletes all around the world

requesting my meals, I can get anyone to go plant-based.

[JDee] I'm not gonna be convinced.

You got to convince me. You gotta show me.

Okay.

It's a lot of pushback, but I'm prepared for this.

What's holding JDee back is just fear, fear of change.

He's afraid, and I sense that.

But I feel like it's a place for me

to kind of hold his hand and show him that

he doesn't have to lose at all. He can still have fun with this.

Who's in charge of the books?

- Me. - [women laughing]

[JDee] That's the book lady.

- Okay. What did you w... - But the kitchen is what keeps us in business

- so there's a little tension. - Exactly!

I see that struggle. I see that tug of war and she has a vision.

And his vision and her vision. They just don't match right now.

I'm going to tell you something that I see.

There's something for my friends to eat, but nothing for me to eat.

Yeah, well, we got a salad.

Do I look like a salad girl?

- I'm smart enough not to answer that question. - [women laugh]

- Okay. - I just don't believe it's gonna sell.

- Right. - 'Cause, instead of making money, it'd be wasting money.

So, more or less counterproductive.

It comes down to...

I want to show them that they can actually

make money off of plant-based items on their menu.

I see that your demographic is very diverse.

But we can push it a little further.

Wouldn't it be cool to look outside, and there's a line down the door

because everybody can eat here and there's no exclusion.

It would be great.

I think that I could really help you.

- If you're open to it. - I'm open as I can be.

I have some ideas. I need to work them out and see what...

Because I feel like you're gonna be a hard person to please.

- [JDee laughs] - I have to work it out first.

You, though, you're going to give me your honest opinion.

- You better know it. - Okay.

I'll be right here.

I'm fully prepared for this.

But I do know there's gonna be some roadblocks ahead.

- So, I'm coming tomorrow. - [JDee] Mm-hmm.

- Bright and early. - Yes, ma'am.

- But I need a kitchen tour. - Let's go see it.

- Come on back. - Can I get up? All right.

[JDee, speaking other language] Come on in.

I am extremely shocked at how small of a space that they're working in.

I'm, like, thinking like, where can I...

Where can I set up shop in there? It's gonna be tough.

[JDee] This is where the magic happens.

Hey, I've seen magic happen in smaller spaces, but okay.

We're gonna be really fighting.

[JDee] You got to learn to dance.

- Somebody, sharpen my knife. - Yeah.

Tomorrow's gonna be tough.

He might kick me out of his kitchen, and I'm prepared for that.

I really am.

- All right, JDee. Bye-bye. - [JDee] Bye.

[Charity] What I learned from my meeting with JDee

is that he loves to cook in smoked meat.

If I'm gonna bring new recipes into his kitchen,

the meat better be top-notch.

So, we're going to go to a place where you can get chicken,

you can get turkey, you can get pastrami, you can get all the things

that you think that you cannot get, but it's vegan.

A vegan butcher, guys. We have a vegan butcher.

- [man] Hey. - Ben, how's it going?

- I'm good. How are you doing? - I'm doing good.

- What are you up to? - I'm working on some recipes.

- You need some meat? - I need some meat.

- We've hacked a couple of things over here, of course. - All right.

Ben, the owner, can just dream of any kind of meat that you can think of,

and he just flips them into vegan versions.

Definitely needs some...

Andouille. Because you always want andouille.

- Yes. Do you have my andouille? - No.

- Okay. Why, I hate you. - [laughs]

- So, let's do some chorizo. - Okay.

[Charity] Chorizo is full of spice and heat, with so much flavor.

And this plant-based one is no different.

I definitely want to use it somehow in one of my new recipes for JDee to try.

Because it's definitely gonna speak to all his meat-loving sensibilities.

But I'm not done shopping yet.

All this food talk is making me hungry.

- [Ben] What are you eating today? - All right, so the usual.

- I want my Italian sub. - Of course. And you want the extra oil, vinegar?

Extra... Somebody knows me around here.

People assume, if they go plant-based,

they'll have to give up a really good sandwich or sub.

But this pepperoni is made of sundried tomato, fennel, and spices.

I guarantee you won't know the difference.

And throw in a cookie. Why not?

I'll share it with my kids. Psych.

- Everything else is in the bag. - Yep. Thank you, Ben.

See you later.

- [Charity] Hey, babe. - Hey. How're you doing?

Um, I feel great.

Thank you for the doughnuts.

I don't need 'em but I'll take 'em.

What filter do you have on? This is amazing.

What is this?

Don't worry about this. This is exclusive.

It's been a while since I've been in the trenches in a crazy kitchen.

And this kitchen is tiny.

I'm proud of you for even going in the kitchen.

- So... - Well, thank you.

I know you'll do well.

All right. I got a tough one on my hands.

He got a tough one on his hands.

[Charity laughs]

♪ Bow down when addressing a queen ♪

[Charity] I am gonna win JDee over.

♪ You know it got that magic ♪

♪ Go girl ♪

♪ Gotta let 'em know That we incredible ♪

[Charity] You win JDee over by cooking with him,

letting him know that I'm no different than he is.

Once you get the chef on board, you can get the staff on board

by letting them taste and give feedback.

Then, you go out to the customers, the real judges.

Good morning, Chef.

At look at you with your knife roll and everything.

Let's start off as friends.

Yes, we might as well.

Because I know we're gonna be fighting.

So, let's start here.

Probably ain't gonna be before too long.

First things first, which fryer is gonna be for me?

- Which do you want? - Which one can we use for just vegan?

What do you mean?

Can I drain it?

You're gonna have to start fresh.

- Start fresh with the grease? - Yes.

You know, there's fresh grease in there.

Is it fresh vegan grease?

This is pissing him off right now,

but I cannot fry my products

in the same frying oil that he's frying chicken in.

I can't do it.

- [sputtering] - Yeah, okay.

- For me? - But it's just grease.

- I'mma get you this right here. - Thank you, Chef.

All right.

[Charity] All right. Round 2.

[groans]

Wasting all that good grease.

Yes. Look at all that chicken bits.

It's good for you.

This is gonna be a hot grease cocktail.

Okay.

I have a 3R system.

Replace, replicate, and reveal.

To replace something is something that's not doing well on the menu.

I'm gonna replace their pub chips

with my version of beer cheese pub chips,

but we're gonna bump those flavors up.

Because, coming from Terra, they're pretty flat.

My "replicate" is to show them that I can give them exactly what they already have

in a plant-based version.

I'm going to replicate a vegan version of their wings,

and my "reveal" is to give them something new,

and I'm thinking a plant-based version

of mac and cheese with pulled pork,

and crunchy onion rings on top.

All right, I'm going to get started on the vegan- barbecued pulled pork.

And for that, I'm going to use jackfruit.

What's that?

[Charity] This is Jackfruit.

Have you ever had jackfruit?

No. In my life, I've never had no jackfruit.

What would you do?

- What would I do? - If this was a pork tenderloin right now?

I smack it up, flip it, and rub it down.

- Smack... Okay, well, let's do it. - [laughing]

I'm gonna put this baby on your smoker.

You're gonna smoke that?

Yes, I am.

[JDee] What'd you say this is again?

[Charity] This is jackfruit.

- Jackfruit? - Yep.

- Kinda look like pineapple. - Yeah, it does.

This jackfruit is going to be the pulled pork on the mac and cheese.

It's meaty and tender, just like pork.

All right, let's take this to the grill.

[JDee] All right. I'm not sure about this right here.

You don't have to be sure It's okay. We're gonna work through this.

- [JDee] It's an old offset smoker. - [Charity] Ooh...

Something about some smoke.

- Just, oh, my God. - Ain't it wonderful?

[Charity] It is a wonderful thing.

I'm excited about this.

We're going to change the game today.

- Oh, yes. - I don't know how good the game is gonna be,

- but we're gonna try. - [Charity] It's gonna be good. Trust me.

My strategy is to first get JDee in his element.

What kind of chips do you have in there?

We've got hickory and white oak in there now.

I was thinking 30, 45 minutes, tops.

Sounds like a winner to me.

- All right. Get it nice and tender. - All right.

He's comfortable frying,

but his true love is on that pit.

I'm doing a reveal dish that is gonna pull to the heart and soul of who JDee is.

- All right, JDee. - [JDee] All right.

I'm gonna have you make some cheese for my mac and cheese.

- Make... Make some who? - Some cheese.

- Make some cheese? - Yes.

- Okay. - All right.

- Take this, drain them for me. - Uh-huh.

- What is this that I'm draining. - These are cashews.

It was... You're gonna make cheese?

I'm gonna make some cheese.

And it's gonna start with cashews?

It's gonna start with cashews.

- Cheese? - Cheese.

JDee's tough.

- I don't know. I don't know. - I know.

This is... This is absolutely nuts.

He's picking apart the way I do things.

He's picking apart my ingredients.

[JDee] This is nuts.

You just, like, look disgusted. Like, "What the [bleep] is she doing?"

- I don't know. - Just saying.

[JDee] This is nuts.

All right, JDee. Take these. Pop them in that blender.

I'm gonna tell you exactly what to do while I make some onion rings.

Okay.

I needed JDee in the driver's seat of this moment.

He needed to make it his own.

All right, let's flavor this baby up.

- See that Creole seasoning right next to you? - Mm-hmm.

[Charity] Put about one tablespoon in your hand.

Eyeball it, go ahead, and put some garlic powder, some onion powder.

Season in it like you would. This is your kitchen.

- Don't be afraid of it. - [JDee] You have to understand,

I've never made cheese before with a blender.

[Charity] It's okay. It's the first time for everything.

I've made a thousand mac and cheeses.

I could have went back there and did it myself.

I not only have to educate JDee, but I have to empower him, too.

These are cashews. They're a little sweet.

So, we're gonna push them to the savory side.

They're a great substitute for cheese because they're rich

and after you blend them, they are creamy.

There's a container over there that says, nutritional yeast.

- [JDee] Mm-hmm. - Put the whole thing in there.

- That's about a half a cup. - All right.

Put half a pinky of plant-based milk on top.

All right, keep going. Pop those

three cloves of garlic in there and let that baby rip.

So, this is supposed to be cheese?

- That's gonna be cheese. - If you say so.

All right. While you got that going on over here,

I'm gonna start the noodles for my mac and cheese,

and fry up these onion rings to pop them on top.

JDee, we're almost there.

All right, take that and put that on your noodles.

- All right. - [Charity] All right. Mix that in there

- like we want to marry that sauce with that noodle. - All right.

[Charity] Keep going on that mac and cheese.

I'll be right back. I'm gonna go grab my jackfruit off the smoker.

- [JDee] All right. - Be right back.

I grew up eating meat. I grew up eating cheese.

I needed JDee to know

that I was once where he is right now.

- Look what I got. - [JDee] Jackfruit.

- Jackfruit. Go ahead. - Mm.

I might be one of the finickiest eaters you've ever met.

But that's pretty good.

- Watch what we do with it. - That is pretty good.

At that moment, all JDee saw was food.

He didn't give a care if it was vegan or not.

I never thought I'd be eating vegan food, but I'm kinda curious to see

how this is gonna taste, 'cause it looks delicious.

[Charity] I have my mac and cheese on the bottom.

Then, my smoked jackfruit with barbecue sauce.

Then, fried onion rings,

topped off with Nashville hot ranch.

This looks so damn good.

- I know you want to try this. - Right now.

Right now. I know. I'm so cruel because I'm gonna make you wait.

I'm gonna put this out.

I have some other things coming out, and I want you and your staff to try this.

And I want you guys to give me your initial reaction.

- I'll be right back. - All right. Okay.

That's pretty good.

That's pretty good right there.

For my "replicate,"

their wings are already perfect.

I'm going to replicate a vegan version of their wings.

- We're gonna cook some wings. - Okay.

You do your thing with your wings, and I do my thing with my wings.

You can't compete with me on wings now. And this right there

- now, they're my wings. - We'll see about all of that.

That's your Nashville hot seasoning, right?

Yeah. That's exactly what it is.

It's perfect. Look at this.

- You see that orange on there? - [Charity] Okay. That look right. All right.

This... You almost want to eat one of these, just like they are.

[Charity] Uh, almost not.

- [Charity] You double bread or single? - Double bread.

- All right. - [JDee] Wet, dry, wet, back into the dryer.

[Charity] All right. What if I told you I have

an eggs batter over here and seasoned flour too?

I would be wondering how you got an egg batter when you don't like chickens.

Yeah, don't worry about that.

I have my plant-based batter over here and your seasoned flour.

[JDee] I wouldn't call those wings.

I have a hack for everything.

Yeah, you're doing pretty good at it.

I got to give you a little credit right now.

[Charity] My hack is gonna be cauliflower,

as they're pretty much a blank canvas.

It's going to pick up any flavor and spice that I add to it.

- Double batter this, nice and crispy. - [JDee] Mm-hmm.

- [Charity] How're you doing over there? - I'm ready.

- [Charity] You didn't have to do much. - Nah. 'Cause we don't...

All you do is shake a canister.

Good does not take long.

All right. I'm gonna be on the vegan fryer.

You're gonna be over there on the whatever you want to call it fryer.

[JDee] Yeah, this is the real fryer.

This is the good stuff right here. Look at this.

Watch this right here.

We gonna put these things in here.

Look at it. Ah...

[JDee] I'm gonna give 'em a toss.

I need to do it one-handed like you.

I'm afraid I'm gonna pop them on the floor.

[JDee] Come back to you.

- [Charity] All right. - Then you go to this. Mm-mm.

That's when you know it's good.

- [Charity] What is that? - This is Germantown sauce.

Now, I'm gonna come across that thing like this right here.

After that, all you gotta do is top them with a little lemon pepper.

[Charity] Oh, wow.

I do, however, have a vegan ranch.

All right.

[JDee] I don't classify fried cauliflower.

It's fried foods.

You can't tell me that's a chicken wing.

I don't think that is gonna compare to this.

People are not gonna cross over into this.

I'm thinking, ain't no way I'm eating that.

I don't want no fried nothing. Not no fried cauliflower.

Not no... I don't want none of that.

JDee is tough.

He's gonna fight me on every single level.

Let your customers taste it because I'm still struggling with you.

Yeah, we'll see.

- All right. Okay. - All right.

My "replace" is the pub chips.

I'm doing some amazing beer cheese nachos.

JDee. I got some heat for you.

- What is this? - Look at this.

Cultured vegan butter. Hmm.

I don't know how that's possible.

[Charity] It's possible.

- Dairy-free cheese? - Yeah.

[JDee] And what are you gonna do with that?

- I'm gonna use your flour. - Okay.

And I'm gonna create a beer cheese out of that.

Actually, while I'm melting my butter and getting my roux going,

I'm gonna have you grab me some beer.

I'm gonna start off with, like, a bechamel,

but it's going to be a beer type bechamel.

Let's get this roux going.

Cook out some of the flour...

so it's not pasty.

I got your amber beer here.

I love it. All right, let's cook this flour down a little bit.

JDee, you ever make a bechamel?

[JDee] Yeah, I make bechamels all the time. [laughs]

Cut it with some plant-based milk. [laughs]

[JDee] Plant-based milk.

All right, JDee. I need some spices. Give me some garlic.

- You got some garlic back here? - Yep.

I need some garlic, some onion powder.

Give it all to me. I want it all.

Oh, yes. Get some some dried mustard in here.

Some thyme leaves.

Take that vegan chorizo and put it on the flat top over here and...

Vegan chorizo?

- [Charity] Yes, sir. - I don't know about this.

[Charity] Just cook it like you would cook normal chorizo.

- Give it some brown edges. - Mm-hmm.

[Charity] It has some Mexican chilies, some lime juices, onion, garlic.

It has all the authentic flavors that you'll get from the traditional chorizo.

Yes, pinch a piece of that. Try that.

I have to be honest, I am pleasantly surprised.

It is not bad at all.

He's turning. Thank you, Jesus.

All right. So, being that this is a beer cheese,

what's the first thing you want to taste?

- [JDee] Beer. - All right, let's see.

- Grab a chip. - Yeah. You have me curious.

[Charity] All right, let's try it.

[crunching noises]

You're where you need to be right there.

- I think that's good. - That's real good.

You're winning so far. You're two-for-two so far.

- You might have yourself something right there. - All right.

He liked my chorizo.

He was opening up to my cheese sauce.

He realized it wasn't what he thought it was.

I'm gonna go get ready so I can serve the people

- that's gonna be coming in here place. - All right.

[Charity] Now that JDee and I have worked through these dishes,

I'm going to whip up a few more for the staff.

JDee. Where are you?

It's very important for Naima and JDee to like the food.

But the front of the house is very important.

These are the people that are selling it.

Often, I go to a restaurant and I have no idea what to order.

And I ask them, "What's your favorite?"

- Come on. - Crew, y'all come on in for a minute.

[Charity] Because they tasted all of them.

They know what's good and what's not.

I need to get them invested, too.

Everything I had worked all day on was right there on that plate,

waiting for five individuals to tell me the fate of these dishes.

All right, guys, we're gonna try a couple of dishes

that I've been working on in your kitchen.

[woman] So it's all vegan?

Everything on this table is vegan.

- [woman] Okay. - [Charity] It has no meat. It has no dairy.

It has no egg.

You can fool me by saying that all of this is vegan.

- We'll see how the taste is. - [laughter]

All right, go ahead. Just have at it. Cut away.

[laughter, indistinct chatter]

[woman] Okay.

[Charity] There's a spoon here. Shovel that baby in there.

It was like a bunch of hungry wolves came out.

- [man] Mm. - They're really so good.

- [man] Mm. - It was priceless.

My method is the 3R's.

It's "replace, replicate, and reveal."

Replace something that you guys already have,

replicate something that's doing good,

and reveal something new.

The replace would be the pub chips.

The flavor in the chorizo... You fooled me.

The chips... That's something right there.

- I think that they are better than JDee's. - [background music fades out]

[chuckles] I'm the person in the room who could say that.

- But we all agree, right? - [laughter]

You said it, not me.

That pickled red onion gives it another pop of freshness.

And the vegan beer cheese...

I'm shocked. You shocked me.

I did not expect that kind of reaction from that crew.

My "replicate" is the wings.

I was very surprised by the cauliflower wings.

The chew... The chew... That was a little different for me.

As far as biting into the wing itself, they're very crispy.

But once you get inside, maybe just a little bit more crunch on the inside or...

- Okay. - The texture just did not do it for me.

I bit into it, and it had crunch on the outside, but, like, inside...

[groans] It kind of... It's just like, "Ah, I don't want any more."

Okay.

As a chef, not everything's always perfect.

We always want to be better.

Those wings got a lot of attention,

and I looked at my wings, compared to his wings,

and they were missing some elements.

The "reveal" is my mac and cheese.

Can I get some feedback on that?

The Mac and cheese blew my mind.

I'm Southern. So, I was... I was shocked that it tasted that well,

considering it's, what, fake cheese or whatever, so to speak.

[laughter]

I would eat the mac and cheese every day.

The mac and cheese, I thought was spectacular.

If mac and cheese was a love language,

I feel like they fell head over heels with me today.

- It's delicious. - Did he say "delicious?"

- The anti-vegan man said "delicious?" - [JDee] It is.

That macaroni and cheese with that barbecue right there,

it's got me.

- Girl, this is a one-two back at you. Damn! - [laughter]

[JDee] It's got me.

When people dance while they're eating,

that means that [bleep] is good.

When JDee gave me the two-step, that's when I knew I had him.

I mean, you've inspired every single dish, every flavor.

This was all inspired by you.

- Oh, man, you got me! - [laughter]

Oh, my gosh. [squeals] I'm gonna cry.

I saw in JDee that he finally let all of his guards down,

and I didn't think that JDee would ever say the things that he said about my food.

All right. So, tomorrow, there's another test

that we actually have to get through.

We got through the crew. We got through the head chef, the owner.

Now, we've got to get through the customers.

Oh, you thought I was hard to please?

Get ready for these people to come in and eat trifectas.

Good luck with them.

You got an uphill battle on your hands.

- All right. I'm taking notes. - [JDee] Yeah. Get 'em ready.

It feels good that I got through to the crew and JDee.

But customers are another level of a pain in your ass.

I have to please these customers.

So, I have a little bit more homework to do.

And I'll be back tomorrow with my A game. All right, guys.

What I don't want for Germantown Pub is to get a bad review.

So I have... I have to win these customers over.

They've loved everything,

but they have feedback on the wings.

I'm going home and I'm gonna test out these wings

because there's a couple of things that I think that I could do better

to up the game on these wings.

♪ Pick it up, pick it up ♪

♪ Follow the leader ♪

As a chef, not everything's always perfect.

Those wings were good, but I can make them great.

[phone ringing]

- Hey, Terra. - [Terra] Hey. What are you doing?

I am working on a recipe.

Oh, really? What are you working on?

Those damn trifecta wings that you had, that you thought was so delicious.

- How are you coming on them? - I just got started.

But your ass calls me, and you disrupted me. So, what the hell do you want?

[both laugh]

Hold on.

All right. So, the feedback today was that the wings were really good,

but it was a little too cauliflower-ish for some of the crew members.

I'm gonna just completely replaced the whole recipe with the oyster mushrooms.

- [Terra] Mm... - I want to give them a little more meatier texture,

something that's more consistent to what they're always having.

I feel the oyster mushrooms are gonna work so much better for JDee

- because it's got this dark meat consistency. - Uh-huh.

It's going to actually hold all these spices and flavors more

because it's more porous.

Yes, I love it.

- All right. So, I got to get to work. - Talk to you later.

- Okay. Bye. - Bye.

The ones that I double dipped is like a true fried chicken.

My wings were truly missing that special sauce that JDee had.

I went into JDee's kitchen and I stole his sauce.

It is a perfect Thai chili sauce

with that beautiful dusting of his lemon pepper spice.

That's more like it. Nashville's finest.

Well, damn.

And once I added that...

You see that? I want it.

...couldn't nobody tell me nothing.

Hi, I am picking up an order for Charity.

[woman] All right.

[Charity] I want to treat the Germantown staff to something nice.

I'm running over to Sunflower Bakehouse

to grab some cupcakes, but they have no idea it's vegan.

And I'm not telling them.

They have carrot cake. They have strawberry, chocolate,

peanut butter cups, chocolate drizzle.

Vegan food has come so far,

you're not sacrificing anything here, even the good stuff.

JDee, Naima, I have something for you.

- Is it like a surprise? - It's a surprise. Yes.

Get your crew. Let's go. I have something.

So, I thank you so much for letting me take over.

I brought you guys a little treat.

[JDee] Ooh, Lord. But you didn't get enough for everybody else.

I need you to share with your crew, please.

I'm bringing in cupcakes today as my token of appreciation.

- How's it taste? Fire? - Oh, this is delicious.

[woman] The icing's so wet. This is perfection.

Your cupcake is orgasmic.

- Oh. - [laughter]

The denseness of the cake, but it's moist.

It's a very good cupcake. It's smooth, the texture...

You guys are definitely eating a vegan cupcake.

[woman] What?

- Yeah. You got me too, bro. - [laughter]

- [JDee] You got me. - [man] You fooled me again.

You make a cupcake like this with icing like this, and it's all plant-based?

I'm a hundred-percenter now. Put me in the game.

I cannot believe this is plant-based.

- [woman] Oh! - This is delicious.

- This is deep right here. - You got me on this one.

Oh, my God. He is not letting me get another one.

I bamboozled them.

All right, guys. So, let's get ready for tonight.

Are we ready? Are we ready for this, people?

[all] Ready, ready...

[Charity] All right, let's get ready.

- Let's go. - All right.

[Charity] It's looking good. It's smelling good.

It's starting to actually thicken.

- JDee. - [JDee] Yes, ma'am.

- I need to try this. Just have one. - Okay.

[Charity] So I went back and I worked on the wings.

What do you think?

They're pretty good right now. It's good.

You got yourself something.

- [Charity] And this is a trifecta version. - [JDee] Golly!

It's good right there. My honest opinion, I wanna eat six more.

- Yeah, this is fire. It's delicious. - All right.

I was like... [exclaims]

[JDee] That's first mushroom I ever ate in my life.

- No way. - I swear.

- No. Are you serious? - With everything in me, I promise.

A mushroom?

Like, who doesn't have a mushroom?

I don't know.

I'm still trying to figure that one out.

- Trifecta goodness. - [JDee] Mm-hmm.

[Charity] Tonight, customers can order off the regular menu,

but we are sending out three vegan dishes

to each table to get some real feedback.

Do we have chorizo?

Don't sprinkle it. Just let everything go vertical.

[indistinct chattering]

Waiter, waiter!

We got people out there, waiting.

The first few moments of me getting in that kitchen...

Waiter!

...was overwhelming.

This is a big moment for me.

I knew I was going to give this to the customers.

So, it's my reputation on the line, and Germantown Pub's.

JDee, I need your help.

JDee, we're pressing for time, Chef!

Waiter!

Pub chips.

A little light on lettuce.

I don't want more lettuce than meat and cheese.

It's a pub. They don't want salads.

I see those plates going out, I'm very nervous.

The only thing that matters is the customer.

It feels good that I got through to the crew and JDee.

But in the end, this is business.

If the customers don't like what I've created, it's not gonna make the menu.

This is a whole new audience.

These are people that only want their down-South food.

- I'll try it. But I'm not vegan. - Yeah.

I mean, I'm Nashville home and rais... You know, born and raised.

- Right. Right. - I want my meat.

- Okay, I hear you. Perfect. - You know what I mean? Like, I need my meat.

I have to win them over. Nothing else matters.

Pub chips.

[woman] The food is very good.

- That cheese sauce is awesome. - It's the cheese for me. It's the cheese sauce.

[woman] But it's the meat too.

- Hey, boo, hey, hey! - Hey!

What do you guys think?

You killed the cheese. You killed it.

And I can't tell at all that it's not meat. That it's not real meat.

Is this Charity's food or their food? Like, what's happening?

- Let me see. A little bit more. - All right.

We want to get all that into all those crevices of the oyster.

Waiter!

Bruh, you have got to try these trifectas right here.

- I'm loving this wing here. What is it? - Yeah, it's delicious.

It's a mushroom.

- It's a mushroom. Are are you serious? - [man] Ah.

What kind of mushroom is it?

- Oyster. - No way.

I like the the vegan wings, but I'm gonna go with

- the regular wings all day. Because I love chicken wings. - [JDee] All right. I got you.

The breading is perfectly crisp.

It looks like a real chicken wing. That's crazy.

I mean, I saw more of the specials fly out of that kitchen

than their normal food.

These were regulars. So, that was a huge statement

of people wanted something different.

I'll tell you something.

Got everybody out here full and happy.

They're having a good time out here, laughing and joking.

Keep it coming. You're doing a great job.

[Charity] Thank you, Chef.

[JDee] Oh, y'all about to set it off with the mac and cheese.

Ooh, yes, showing out!

- Okay. - Mm.

That's fire. That's fire.

You're telling me this is not a pulled pork or pulled chicken?

It tastes like chicken, though.

- It tastes like what? - Chicken.

- I don't think it's vegan. - It is vegan.

I loved the confusion that was going on in that restaurant.

A jackfruit?

- That's amazing. - It's awesome.

This here?

You did your thing, Chef.

Thank you. It means so much to me.

That reaction, it was real.

It was people that love food.

Let me go home with this... I'll ride in the trunk. That's all.

Lord, have mercy.

[Charity] Everyone's leaving.

The restaurant is clearing, and I need to go grab JDee and Naima,

and sit them down and find out where do we go from here.

Are any of these things, actually going to hit their menu?

When I started this thing off, I said there was no way possible

that none of this would sell at this restaurant.

I've been down here since we opened,

and I was like, I know what my customers eat.

I'm such a finicky eater. I never thought and I never tasted vegan food.

You did a great job in the oyster mushrooms, like I ate a mushroom.

[Naima] We have the best wings in the country. Hands down.

Folks who come here who typically are, like, licking the plate

after they've had wings.

There were people who told me

that if I put the wings and leave our wings on the menu, as is, right?

Our best seller is our trifecta wing.

And put the oyster mushroom "wing" in trifecta sauce next to it...

I would eat these and these.

We've got to have both of these.

The fact that you're telling me with a straight face...

I'm waiting for, like, a "Got you, this is a joke."

- Shoe to drop. - I keep staring at JDee, like...

- This is real. This is real life. - ...is this a joke?

No, this is real life.

The oyster mushrooms... When you took it back and you reconfigured it,

in your little overnight and you came,

- whatever you did to it on the way back... - Like this little magic dust.

...it worked perfectly.

I studied the best.

- Yeah. Yeah. - Absolutely.

- And... I love this man. - Your approach is...

He can cook his ass off.

But your nachos, they're better than his.

Yeah. They loved the pup chips, everybody.

We haven't even talked about the mac and cheese.

The jackfruit was... It was, like, spectacular.

I know this has been overwhelming,

and there's decisions to be made.

But if there's one item that you would just take and say, "This is it,"

what item can we put on the menu?

Uh...

JDee is gonna be really angry at me,

but we're gonna do three vegan items on the menu.

There were three winners, and he he's gonna pull it off

because I know he can. You watched him do it. You converted him.

He said he was never gonna eat vegan food.

- [Charity grunts] - Now he's eating vegan cupcakes.

I don't wanna freak right now because I was so nervous about you.

- It was you. - You got me.

Emotionally, I was like, "I'm not gonna get him."

I have to really, really come hard.

I didn't have no intentions of you getting me either.

But you did.

I feel like I got through to some people,

that I didn't think that I would ever get through to.

It felt good, cooking side by side with a chef,

and it was a magical moment between two chefs.

I feel like I'm changing the trajectory of how people see plant-based items.

I also feel like I have a lot of work to do.

But I'm gonna relish in this moment because it was a big win for me.

- My work is done here. I'm heading to Memphis. - [JDee] Mm-hmm.

I got to some tough ones on my hands.

- Oh, yeah. - I thought you was tough, but I think Memphis

is probably gonna be a little harder.

It's real tough down there.

Those are barbecue veterans.

- I know. - If you need any references, tell 'em to call me.

- I'll be yours. No problem. - Thanks, JDee.

All right. We got your back.

Nashville was fun. And it was a lot of work.

- Let us know if we need to come to Memphis. [laughs] - Yes.

But, Memphis, I'm coming for you.